Massive fourth inning powers St. Joe over Perry Central

The Clarion Ledger talks with St. Joe-Madison starting pitcher Josh Bailey and head coach Gerard McCall after the team's 12-2 win Thursday over Perry Central in Game 1 of the Class 2A South State finals.
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St. Joseph's Brady Johnson (7) celebrates scoring a run against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)(Photo: Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger)Buy Photo

MADISON — The outcome of most baseball games can often be encapsulated in this simple sentence: As the pitcher and/or bullpen goes, so goes the team. Early on in Thursday's opening game of the Class 2A South State Final between St. Joe-Madison and Perry Central, it seemed St. Joe starting pitcher Josh Bailey might have been headed in the wrong direction.

Two walks at the top of the second frame prompted a mound visit by Bruins head coach Gerard McCall and appeared to settle Bailey down.

"My message to Josh was to just throw strikes and let your teammates work. I just wanted him to settle down," McCall said. "I felt like he was trying to be a little bit too perfect, trying to hit too many spots and he just needed to challenge the hitters."

From there, the team followed suit. The Bruins ace went on to allow just two runs, both courtesy of a homer in the third, and the St. Joe bats roared to life in an 11-run fourth inning en route to a 12-2 run-rule victory.

St. Joseph second baseman Trey Frierson (13) celebrates against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

Perry Central second baseman Coleman Backstrom (9) throws to first base during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

St. Joseph second baseman Trey Frierson (13) turns a double play against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

Perry Central starting pitcher (4) delivers against St. Joseph during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

St Joseph's Covey Lockhart puts a ball into play against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

Peery Central shortstop Brantley Pipkins (28) attempts to turn a double play against St. Joseph Catholic during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

Perry Central's Derrick Hartfield (3) celebrates with teammates following a home run during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

St Joseph's Noah Forest (9) heads for home against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

Grayson Guilory (21) watches a hit against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

St Joseph shortstop Brady Johnson (7) makes a play on a hard hit ground ball during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

St. Joseph's Brady Johnson (7) slides safely into third base against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

Perry Central second baseman Coleman Backstrom (9) awaits the throw to put the tag on Noah Frost (9) of St. Joseph during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

Grayson Guilory (21) celebrates following a double against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

St. Joseph's Brady Johnson (7) fields a ground ball against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

St. Joseph's Brady Johnson (7) celebrates scoring a run against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith/For Clarion Ledger

Perry Central second baseman Coleman Backstrom (9) throws to first base during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith, For Clarion Ledger

St. Joseph second baseman Trey Frierson (13) turns a double play against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith, For Clarion Ledger

Perry Central starting pitcher (4) delivers against St. Joseph during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith, For Clarion Ledger

St. Joseph second baseman Trey Frierson (13) celebrates against Perry Central during the MHSAA 2A Playoff Baseball held at St. Joseph Catholic High School Friday May 10, 2018.(Bob Smith-For The Clarion Ledger)
Bob Smith, For Clarion Ledger

Bailey finished his complete-game effort with six strikeouts, five walks and only three hits allowed.

"Early on I just had to calm down, relax and take a deep breath," Bailey said. "My teammates picked me up and we just kinda came together at that point and realized we needed to get some runs and stop them."

How it happened

St. Joe put up the game's first run on an RBI-double from Covey Lockhart in the second inning, but Perry Central responded in the next frame with a two-run homer off the bat of Derrick Hartfield.

Things quieted down until the Bruins' pivotal fourth inning explosion. Grayson Guillory got things going with a two-run double to put St. Joe ahead 3-2. At that point, the Bulldogs pulled starting pitcher Noah Hillman and replaced him with Brantley Pipkins.

The Bruins took advantage of the change, using an aggressive mentality at the plate and a few Bulldog errors to tack on nine more runs in the inning. St. Joe finished the game with 11 hits as the quartet of Brady Johnson, Joe Pearson, Andrew Sanli and Guillory collected two hits apiece.

"It took a couple innings to get the rhythm of the pitcher and just kind of what he was throwing. It happens like that in baseball a lot of times. They (Perry Central) made a few errors but we just kept the pressure on them and as a result, we ended up scoring a lot of runs tonight," McCall said.

Up Next

St. Joe will face the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Friday at Perry Central in game 2 of the best-of-three series.